Method of making decorative articles

ABSTRACT

A kit for making a decorative article includes a base; colored strips of material, each strip having a unidirectionally grained surface; a flock container; and a pair of tweezers. The base includes designated sections forming a design and a translucent pressure sensitive adhesive over the surface having the designated sections. The colored strips include designated diecut sections, the designations being correlated with the designations of the design sections. To make the decorative article, the diecut sections are removed and placed against the adhesive covering their corresponding design sections on the base. The die-cut sections on the strip are oriented such that when they are fixed to the base their grains will be at different angles to one another. After the die-cut sections have been fixed to the base, the flock container is used to sprinkle flock over the exposed adhesive, thereby providing a flocculent surface which gives the applied sections an inlaid look.

United States Patent [191 Morrison 1 Nov. 6, 1973 [76] Inventor: John R. Morrison, Syndertown Rd.,

Hopewell, NJ. 08525 [22] Filed: Feb. 29, 1972 [21] Appl. N0.: 230,367

Powell 35/26 X Primary ExaminerEdward G. Whitby Att0rneyAlan H. Levine [57] ABSTRACT A kit for making a decorative article includes a base; colored strips of material, each strip having a unidirectionally grained surface; a flock container; and a pair of tweezers. The base includes designated sections forming a design and a translucent pressure sensitive adhesive over the surface having the designated sections. The colored strips include designated diecut sections, the designations being correlated with the designations of the design sections. To make the decorative article, the die-cut sections are removed and placed against the adhesive covering their corresponding design sections on the base. The die-cut sections on the strip are oriented such that when they are fixed to the base their grains will be at different angles to one another. After the die-cut sections have been fixed to the base, the flock container is used to sprinkle flock over the exposed adhesive, thereby providing a flocculent surface which gives the applied sections an inlaid look.

11 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDNHV e m SHEET10F2 PATENTEDuuv 6 ms 3770.535

SHEET 20F 2 METHOD OF MAKING DECORATIVE ARTICLES This invention relates to a method of making decorative articles,.and more particularly to making articles which are composites of a plurality individual decorative pieces of material.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method of making a decorative article composed of pieces which reflect light in such a way that the finished article seems to shimmer.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a method wherein the decorative pieces comprising the article appear to be of more different colors than is actually the case, i.e., if pieces of three different colors are used the article appears to include pieces of eight or nine different colors or shades.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a method wherein the decorative pieces of the finished article have the appearance of being inlaid into the surface of the article.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a method for creating a highly attractive and professional looking article without requiring special skill or artistic talent.

Additional objects and features of this invention will become apparent by reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the components furnished to carry out the method, namely, a base, die-cut sheets of material, a pair of tweezers, and a flock container;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the removal of a die-cut section from a sheet of material;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the tweezers being used to guide a die-cut section onto a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating on the base;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the application of flock to the adhesive on the base; and

FIGS is a front view of an article resulting from the method of the present invention.

A decorative article may be made, according to the invention, with the materials shown in FIG. 1. These include a base sheets of material 11, 12, and 13, sheet 11 having die-cut sections 60 to 65, sheet 12 having die-cut sections 71 to 73, and sheet 13 having diecut sections 66 to 70; a flock container 14; and a pair of tweezers 15.

The base 10 may be a sheet of flexible or rigid material. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1, one surface of the base 161 includes a printed design 17, the design 17 having sections 18 to 31 identified by indicia 32 to 44. Each indicium corresponds to one of the sections 18 to 31 for indicating to the person making the decorative article, as more fully described below, which of the diecut sections 60 to 73 of material should be used to cover the design sections 18 to 31. The design sections 18 to 31 may be covered, as in this example, by providing the surface of the base bearing the design 17 with a transparent pressure-sensitive adhesive 16 (see FIGS.

3 and 4-) to which the die-cut sections 60 to 73 may be fixed. A transparent adhesive 16 is desired so as not to obscure the design 17 on the base 10. To protect the adhesive 16 until the user is ready to apply the die-cut sections 60 to '73, the adhesive 16 may be covered with a protective layer of material (not shown) which is readily peelable from it.

According to the invention, the sheets of material 1 l, 12, and 13 are of the nature of decorative ribbon such as is commonly used to tie gift packages. The characteristics of this material which are important from the point of view of the invention are its satin-like appearance, which reflects light, and the unidirectional grain of its surface, which causes the surface to reflect more light in some directions than in others. This grain is indicated by the straight parallel lines 21 in FIGS. 1 and 5. Thus, the material may be described as having an anisotropic light-reflecting surface. If ribbon material is used, it has been found convenient, for ease of handling, to laminate it to a sheet of stiff paper or cardboard before die-cutting. As a result, each section 6073 remains flat and is easy to handle.

As previously mentioned, on each of the sheets 11, 12, and 13, there is associated with each of the die-cut sections 60 to 73 a unique indicium which corresponds to an indicium associated with only one of the design sections 33 to 44 on the base 10. For example, the diecut section 65 on the sheet 11 and the design section 24 on the base 10 are associated with the indicium A6 (identified by reference numerals 40 and 51 in FIG. 1). The indicia 46 to 59 associated with the die-cut sections 60 to 73 and the corresponding indicia 32 to 44 which are associated with the design sections 18 to 31, serve to indicate to the person making the decorative article where the die-cut sections 60 to 73 belong on the base 10. Although in FIG. 1 the indicia 32 to 44 are shown adjacent to sections 60 to 73, they may instead be printed on the rear face of these sections, i.e., the face which will be adhesively secured to base 10. According to the invention, the die-cut sections 60 to 73 on the sheets of material 11, 12, and 13 are arranged with respect to the grain 21 of the ribbon so that when the die-cut sections 60 to 73 are fixed to the adhesive 16 on the base 10, the grains 2]. of some or all of the sections will be oriented in different directions. (see FIG. 5). Moreover, the sheets of material 11, 12, and 13 may each be of a different color. As a result, when the die-cut sections 60 to 73 are fixed over the sections 33 to 44 of the design 17 on the base 10, each of the applied die-cut sections 60 to 73 will reflect light to an observer in an amount which is dependent upon the orientation of its grain. As a result, the composite article tends to shimmer and present a very pleasing appearance. Moreover, individual sections 60-73 cut from the same sheet 11, 112, or 13, and hence obviously being of the same color, appear to be of different shades of color because of their different orientations and hence difierent light-reflective character with respect to the observer.

- After the die-cut sections 60 to 73 have been fixed to the adhesive 16 on the base 10, a flock 75 (see FIG. 4) may be sprinkled by means of the flock container 14, over the entire surface of base 10. The flock is pressed against the board with the fingers, or if desired with a suitable roller, and then all excess flock is brushed off the base. The flock sticks only to the uncovered portions of adhesive 16, i.e., the portions not covered by sections 60 to 73, and is readily brushed off the sections 60 to 73, providing the previously uncovered portions of the base with a flocculent surface. If the sheets of material 11, 12, and 13 are relatively thin with respect to the flock fibers, the die-cut sections 60 to 73 on the base MD appear to have been inlaid into the flocked surface. Preferably, the color of the surface of base 10 in the area which will be covered by the flock 75 is of the same color as the flock, to give the flocked coating a more intense and uniform color.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, a decorative article (see FIG. 5) may be assembled by:

a. placing the base on a support (not shown);

b. pushing a die-cut section away from one of the sheets of material 11, 12, or 13 (see FIG. 2);

c. noting the indicum associated with the die-cut section;

d. locating an indicium on the base 10 corresponding to the indicium of the die-cut section;

e. using the tweezers 15 and a finger to guide the diecut section on to its corresponding section on the design 17 (see FIG. 3);

f. pressing the die-cut section against the adhesive 16 on the base 10;

g. repeating the procedure with each die-cut section; and then h. sprinkling a flock 24 over the uncovered layer of adhesive 16 on the base 10 (see FIG. 4).

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only, and by way of example, and many variations may be made in the invention which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are included in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of making a decorative article, comprising the steps of:

a. providing a base;

b. providing a plurality of pieces of sheet material, each having an anisotropic light-reflecting surface, each of said pieces of sheet material having a unilaterally grained surface, and

c. fixing said pieces of sheet material to said base so that the amount of light reflected from each piece in a particular direction is different from the amount of light reflected from another section in the same direction.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the base includes a pressure sensitive adhesive on one of its surfaces and the pieces of material are fixed to the base by pressing the pieces against the pressure sensitive adhesive.

3. A method as defined in claim 2 including the step of applying a flock to the adhesive on the base left exposed after said pieces have been fixed to said base.

4. A method as defined in claim 3 including providing the region of the base which will be covered by said flock with substantially the same color as the color of the flock.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the base bears indicia indicating where the pieces are to be fixed.

6. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the base is a sheet of flexible material.

7. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein at least some of said pieces are applied to said base with their grains oriented indifferent directions.

8. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the light reflecting surface of said pieces are of different colors.

9. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein at least some of said pieces are die-cut sections of a single sheet of material.

10. A method of making a decorative article, comprising the steps of:

a. providing a base having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating on one surface,

b. providing at least one piece of sheet material,

c. pressing said piece of sheet material on to the base but leaving an exposed area of said adhesivebearing surface surrounding said piece, and

d. applying a flock to the exposed adhesive coating, thereby giving an inlaid appearance to the sheet material on the base.

11. A method as defined in claim 10 including providing the region of the base which will be covered by said flock with substantially the same color as the color of the flock. 

1. A method of making a decorative article, comprising the steps of: a. providing a base; b. providing a plurality of pieces of sheet material, each having an anisotropic light-reflecting surface, each of said pieces of sheet material having a unilaterally grained surface, and c. fixing said pieces of sheet material to said base so that the amount of light reflected from each piece in a particular direction is different from the amount of light reflected from another section in the same direction.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the base includes a pressure sensitive adhesive on one of its surfaces and the pieces of material are fixed to the base by pressing the pieces against the pressure sensitive adhesive.
 3. A method as defined in claim 2 including the step of applying a flock to the adhesive on the base left exposed after said pieces have been fixed to said base.
 4. A method as defined in claim 3 including providing the region of the base which will be covered by said flock with substantially the same color as the color of the flock.
 5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the base bears indicia indicating where the pieces are to be fixed.
 6. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the base is a sheet of flexible material.
 7. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein at least some of said pieces are applied to said base with their grains oriented in different directions.
 8. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the light reflecting surface of said pieces are of different colors.
 9. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein at least some of said pieces are die-cut sections of a single sheet of material.
 10. A method of making a decorative article, comprising the steps of: a. providing a base having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating on one surface, b. providing at least one piece of sheet material, c. pressing said piece of sheet material on to the base but leaving an exposed area of said adhesive-bearing surface surrounding said piece, and d. applying a flock to the exposed adhesive coating, thereby giving an inlaid appearance to the sheet material on the base.
 11. A method as defined in claim 10 including providing the region of the base which will be covered by said flock with substantially the same color as the color of the flock. 